TV series

Title: The tale of the flying goldfish

Genre: Comedy | Crime | Mystery

 

This is a low-budget, contained web episode show. It will initially run for six episodes, with each being fifteen minutes long. Shot and produced within the UK, it will be a dry witted crime solving dialogue heavy show, with a twist of farce. Tone will be similar to The Smoking Room (2004–2005), Early Doors (2003– 2004), Grandma's House (2010 – 2012) and Roger & Val Have Just Got In (2010 – 2012). Professionals aged 24-49 are the target audience.

 

The story will have a Rashomon (1950) style premise, where the same story will be told from different people perspective, while being interviewed by the companies’ security officer trying to investigate the death of the chairman’s goldfish. The murder mystery within the company building will be used as a McGuffin to progress the alternative storylines of the show.

One of the characters will be new to working at the company and will be utilised as the mainly focus early on, to help explain the ins and outs of all the other characters in the building as they are informed on the history of them all and the office politics and rumours of the organisation.

 

Premise:

Can an investigator find who murdered a goldfish?

 

Log Line:

Victor is investigating the murder of the bosses’ goldfish, the likely suspects have been gathered and all have their own reasons to being the culprit.

 

 

Elevator Pitch:

After what seemed like a normal weekend, the office workers at a plastics company are brought together to investigate who within their group could have been the murderer of the chairman’s prize goldfish. No one leaves until the mystery is solved.

 

Story arc for whole show:

This is a six-part episode series; each will be thirty minutes in length.

The initial episode is an introduction to each of the main characters and finishes on a cliff hanger, explaining why each of them has be summoned due to the fact there has been a death in the chairman’s office and which one of these collection of characters could be the culprit.

It teases slight clues and reasons why each and everyone one could have committed the crime.

Web episodes two to five, consist of the companies’ security officer interviewing all the characters in the conference room being supported by a mysterious lady who seems to be there under false pretensions. All the suspects interrogations are shown in the style of the The Rashomon effect, made famous by Akira Kurosawa feature film Rashomon (1950). Each of their stories of the same event are depicted in a different manner. While this is happening, the whole process is being watched over by an unseen figure in an adjacent room through a one way mirror.

The final web episode reveals the calamity of the whole situation, where the actual victim was not someone that works in the office but in fact the Chairman’s prized goldfish itself and it had actually just jumped out of its bowl and slowly died flapping about on the plush carpet.

All the potential reasons and possible threads of evidence of the suspects were purely red herrings and it was just a bored goldfish who wanted to fly. As per the title of the show.

 

For potential future seasons, would plan to use the same style template used in the TV show Inside No. 9 (2014– ), where the same actors who be used but in different scenarios with each episode of some theme or visual gag about a goldfish.

 

Cast Biographies:

 

Lizzie Chapman

Born in a council estate in East London and growing up with just her Mother and older brother. She trained in secretary college after leaving school, the first in her immediate family. She joined Thompson Plastics after graduating and worked her way up through hard graft to the prestigious position of personal assistance for the Chairman Giles Thompson. She loves to gossips with anyone that comes into her department and adores older men.

 

Pete Jackson

A man who was born to join the accountant’s profession. Since a young age he had been obsessed with numbers and filing. Even doing the family financial accountant while still at school. Leaving University of Sussex which was a very lonesome and distressing experience, he met Merrill through his Mothers charity functions and married a year later. He is a stable dependable character, with a safe and routine life. Or that is what he portrays to his friends and family. But whenever he can get away from his Wife and pretends he is at financial conferences across the country he is actually working for a local gang as their money launderer and actually has a much darker secret life which he is afraid is, slowly taking over his life. But has been at Thompson Plastics for the last twenty two years in the accounting department and has just been told that due to cut backs, his job maybe gone due to redundancy which he totally blames on the Chairman of the company due to some laundering he has been doing for him.

 

Billie Simmons

If there was anyone who wished he could constantly live in the 1980’s and pretend to be Don Johnson during the Miami Vice (1984-1990) era it is Billie. Having been captivated by the show from an early age he does everything possible to live that life. Buying the clothes, car, jewellery that the character Detective James Crockett wore. He lives life to full like there is no tomorrow. He thinks so highly of himself that he could sell ice to the eskimos and easily slotted into the world of Sales and is head of the department at Thompson Plastics

 

Aileen O'Connor

Aileen had been her Fathers special girl since the both she was born. Growing up in a house hold of four older brothers should of been tough but thankfully not so for Aileen. A tomboy who could clearly handle herself against any family members or the establishment. Trouble always seemed to follow her around until you found religion after her Mothers passing, completing changing her demeanour. Followed her Father in working for Thompson Plastics, where he spent more time working for Mr Thompson than being with his family and slowly he was ground down to a shell of his former self and committed suicide in his office.

 

Benjamin Clarke

Just out from school, Ben, to his friends, was encouraged to join a large local firm and work his way up through the company. He has only been in the mail room for eight months but is learning fast. Work is quiet most of the time, which provides him an excuse to carry on investigating who his Father is, his Mother is ashamed to inform him how he is, as she states he just after she became pregnant.

 

Victor Gleeson

Following in his families’ tradition, Victor joined the Royal Fusiliers the moment is was legally allowed. After a distinguished careered he left for medical issues officially, but there are rumours of other unsavoury reasons for retiring early. Since leaving he has been the main security advisor for Mr Thompson at his firm. He treats the building as a fortress and takes no prisoners to find out the perpetrators of any crimes or theft, doesn’t matter how insignificant

 

Kitty McDonald

Not much is known of the spinster Kitty other than her love of cats and Rothmans cigarettes. She is not someone you want to meet down a dark alley, and should never underestimate her due to her physical stature and age.

 

Giles Thompson

Even prior to leaving boarding school, Giles knew he would run a large company and command a dedicated workface of hundreds. He stern manner and no-nonsense approach to business gives off an unemotional almost robotic persona, but all Giles has wanted since childhood is a loving family which he has never found.

Received a CBE for his charity work in the local community.

 

 

Script extract:

 

Please view the script below, which contains the first web episode of the series. It is twelve minutes of script, which leaves one minute for opening titles and two for the closing credits.​